Customary methods for inline inspecting and/or testing devices comprise inline conveying the devices to be tested. Along the conveying path, depending upon the type of device and the type of inspecting and/or testing to be performed, a respective monitoring unit is applied on or over a respective device. Such a monitoring unit generically comprises an information collecting unit by which information is collected from or caused by the device under inspection and/or test. The collecting unit may thereby, as an example, comprise respective sensors as e.g. one or more than one pressure sensor, temperature sensor, picturing sensor, gas species sensor, force sensor, etc. The collected information is customarily transmitted to an evaluation unit as to a computer stationary on the apparatus. The one or more than one monitoring units are conveyed with the devices, wire-bound to the apparatus, up to an area where they are removed from the respective devices and are conveyed back to be reapplied to subsequent devices of the inline stream of devices.
The timespan which is thereby available for collecting information from or caused by the device is, at a given throughput rate of the inline stream of devices, dependent from the extent of conveying path between applying the monitoring units to the devices and removing them from the devices. Because the throughput rate of inline inspecting and/or testing should be as high as possible and because each inspection and/or test of a device necessitates a respective predetermined timespan for collecting information, so as to get accurate results, the respective apparatus and thereby especially that part of the apparatus between an application area for the monitoring unit and a removal area where the monitoring unit is removed from the device becomes more and more space-consuming and complex, due to the path the monitoring units are conveyed with devices and connected to the evaluation unit.
Moreover each apparatus conceived to perform specific inspection and/or testing is constructed with an application-specific conveying path between the addressed area of application and the addressed area of removal of the monitoring units to or from the devices.
It is an object of the present invention, under the aspect of its methods as well as of its apparatus, to improve prior art methods and apparatus.
This is accomplished by the methods of inline inspecting and/or testing devices which comprises:                Providing at least one monitoring unit capable to be releasably applied to or over one of said devices and, in a standalone operating mode, to collect information from and/or caused by such device;        Conveying devices inline towards and into an application area;        Applying on or over a device out of the devices which are inline conveyed towards and into the application area the monitoring unit in the application area;        Removing the monitoring unit from the device in a removal area and conveying the removed monitoring unit to the application area;        By the monitoring unit, collecting information from or caused by the device it is applied to;        Transmitting depending from information collected in the monitoring unit to a remote unit which is stationary with respect to the inline conveying of the devices towards and into said application area;        Evaluating information dependent from information as collected;and wherein        The addressed collecting is performed during a collecting timespan;        The monitoring unit is operated in standalone operating mode during a standalone timespan;        The monitoring unit is applied to or over the device during an application timespan;        The standalone timespan includes at least a part of the application timespan and        The collecting timespan includes at least a part of the addressed part of the application timespan.Definition:        
We understand throughout the present description and claims as “standalone” operating mode an operating mode of the monitoring unit in which no energy transmission by wire or, more generically, by solid material connection is transferred to the monitoring unit or from the monitoring unit to other parts of the apparatus. As examples, in the addressed “standalone” operating mode no electric supply power is fed to the monitoring unit by cable connection, no electric signals, e.g. for controlling the monitoring unit or for reporting a status of the monitoring unit to other parts of the apparatus, is performed via a wired link to the monitoring unit. Further, information collected in the monitoring unit and/or dependent from such collected information may not be transferred to another part of the apparatus by a wired connection, cooling or heating of the monitoring unit my not be performed by mechanically “wired” heat exchange members to the monitoring unit. Thus, in this standalone operating mode the monitoring unit is free of any solid energy transmitting link. Please note that throughout the present description and claims, the term “wire-bound” addresses the opposite status to “standalone”. In this status the monitoring units is connected to another part of the apparatus by a solid material energy transmission line.
Thus, at least during a part of the time a monitoring unit is applied to the devices the addressed monitoring unit is operated in standalone operating mode. The monitoring unit is thus operated in standalone operating mode at least during a part of the application timespan. Thus performing collecting information during the addressed application timespan and in standalone operating mode results in a high flexibility to adapt the collecting timespan. Information is collected by the monitoring unit at least during a part of the application timespan during which the monitoring unit is operated in standalone operating mode.
Having a closer look to the application timespan during which a monitoring unit is applied to one of the devices inline conveyed towards the application area, in one embodiment of the method according to the invention which may be combined with any embodiment to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the device with the monitoring unit applied thereto is conveyed in line with other devices, with or without monitoring unit applied thereto, towards and into the removal area. During this conveyance there might be provided a phase during which the addressed device with the monitoring unit applied thereto is kept stationary so as to increase the application timespan without lengthening the conveying path and thereby lengthening the collecting timespan during the addressed phase of standstill.
In one embodiment of the method according to the invention which may be combined with any embodiment to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the removal area may be located substantially at the same locus of the apparatus as the application area. If thereby the device with the monitoring unit applied thereto is inline conveyed with other devices, with or without monitoring units from the application area to the removal area, this means that the respective conveying path loops from the locus of the application area to the same locus of the removal area.
Still in a further embodiment of the method according to the invention which may be combined with any embodiment to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the device with the monitoring unit applied thereto is kept stationary during the entire application timespan. This means that at least that device to which a monitoring unit is applied is kept stationary after the monitoring unit having been applied thereto up to the moment at which the monitoring unit is removed from the device. Thereby, the application area and the removal area are located substantially at the same locus of the apparatus.
In any case, during the application timespan there exists a timespan during which the monitoring unit is operated in standalone operating mode and a second timespan, at least overlapping the first one, in which collecting information is performed by the monitoring unit.
Thereby, collecting information in the monitoring unit may at least to a part be performed when the monitoring unit has left standalone operating mode or the addressed application timespan has yet not begun or has already ceased. This means that the collecting timespan may start before the application timespan and/or may end after the application timespan.
If the overall apparatus is e.g. to be adapted from short collecting timespans to longer collecting timespans this may be flexibly done just by lengthening that part of the application timespan, during which collecting is performed, thus in one embodiment by lengthening the conveying path between the application area and the removal area there, where collecting of information is performed by the monitoring unit applied to the device and operated in standalone operating mode. Instead of lengthening the conveying path or additionally, during that part of the addressed application timespan a buffer chamber may become effective in which the devices are fed to and removed from at an equal rate, but wherein the devices are conveyed slower or are even stationarily stocked to gain collecting timespan. It goes without saying that, generically spoken, inspecting and/or testing becomes more accurate the more time is available to collect, at a predetermined collecting rate, information from or caused by the device to be inspected and/or tested. Because in the standalone operating mode there is no wire-bound energy transmitting connection between the monitoring unit and the remainder of the overall apparatus, flexibly amending the application timespan when the monitoring unit on the device is in standalone operating mode is feasible without complex constructional amendments to the apparatus. This just because along that part of the application timespan the monitoring unit is operated in standalone operating mode.
Thus, it becomes possible to adapt an overall apparatus from one type of devices to another type and/or from one type of inspecting and/or testing to another one primarily by changing the application timespan at an instance when the monitoring unit is in standalone operating mode. Additionally such adaptation may possibly necessitate exchanging one type of monitoring unit by another.
Thus and as was addressed, in one embodiment according to the invention, which may be combined with all embodiments already addressed and still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the devices with the device on or over which the monitoring unit is applied are inline conveyed from the application area towards and into the removal area.
In one embodiment of the method according to the present invention, which may be combined with all embodiments already addressed and still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the application area and the removal area are provided at least substantially at the same locus or are, alternatively, mutually remote.
In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, which may be combined with all addressed embodiments and embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the application area and the removal area are provided substantially at the same locus and at least the device with a monitoring unit applied thereon or thereover is kept stationary during the application timespan.
According to one embodiment of the method according to the present invention, whereat the devices with the device on or over which the monitoring unit is applied, are inline conveyed from the application area towards and into the removal area, irrespective whether the application area and the removal area are located at the same locus or are mutually remote, the device with the monitoring unit applied thereto is kept stationary during a timespan of the addressed conveying from the application area to the removal area.
In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, which may be combined with all embodiments already addressed and still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the collecting timespan starts before, with or after the application timespan. If the collecting timespan starts before, information is collected e.g. during the application of the monitoring unit onto or over the respective device. Such information may e.g. be indicative for proper applying. Starting the collecting timespan with of after initiating the application timespan may take into account unstable, transient behavior during applying the monitoring unit to the device, which would possibly influence testing and/or inspecting results.
Irrespective whether the collecting timespan starts before, with or after initiating the addressed application timespan, such collecting timespan includes a part of the standalone timespan.
In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention which may be combined with any embodiment already addressed or still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the collecting timespan starts before or with or after start of the standalone timespan.
If the collecting timespan starts before the standalone timespan, this means that collecting is already performed when the monitoring unit is still wire-bound linked for energy transfer to stationary parts of the overall apparatus, be it, as example, by an electronic charging line for a power supply of the monitoring unit, or by control acknowledgement signal wires, by information transmission wires or other energy-transmitting links as for vacuumizing or pressurizing, heat transfer links etc. If the collecting timespan starts with or after start of the standalone timespan, this means that information collecting is performed at the monitoring unit, at least in an initial phase, when the monitoring unit is already operated in standalone operating mode and such collecting may be performed completely independent from wired connections to other parts of the overall apparatus, i.e. locally in fact anywhere.
In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, which may be combined with any embodiment already addressed or to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the standalone timespan of the monitoring unit is ongoing during the application timespan and during being brought from the removing area back to the application area e.g. by conveying. This means that the monitoring unit is in fact permanently in standalone operating mode along the loop—application area—removal area—application area—and all energy transfer to or from the monitoring unit, from or to the remainder of the apparatus is performed not wire-bound and thus wirelessly.
E.g. if the monitoring unit is, in operation, never wire-bound to the remainder of the apparatus, a maximum freedom for adapting the monitoring unit and its operation to specific needs for respective devices and their inspection and/or testing is achieved.
In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, which may be combined with any of the preaddressed embodiments or of the embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the standalone timespan starts at the latest with the application timespan. This means that if any wire-bound connection or link for energy transfer is installed between the monitoring unit and the remainder of the apparatus, such wire-bound connection or link is removed at the latest when the monitoring unit is applied on or over the respective device.
In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiments and embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the collecting timespan ends before, with or after the application timespan. If the collecting timespan ends before the addressed application timespan, this means that the monitoring unit remains applied to or over the respective device, even as collecting information at the monitoring unit has ceased. This may be advantageous e.g. if after the collecting timespan evaluation of information dependent from information as collected is performed, and a result of such evaluation is written to the monitoring unit for latter selection of the respective device, e.g. according to having passed or having not passed inspection or testing. Keeping the monitoring unit applied to the device after termination of collecting information in fact allows to identify the device by the monitoring unit applied thereto for further processing of the device.
If the collecting timespan ends with or after the addressed application timespan it becomes possible to collect and hold information including information about occurrences at or during the removing action. Such information may be important e.g. to check on proper previous application of the monitoring unit to the device.
Moreover and as the monitoring unit is removed from the respective device and collecting of information goes on at least a part of transmitting information from the monitoring unit to the remote unit is performed without any time limit as the monitoring unit is then separate from the device to be further processed.
In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment or embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the collecting timespan ends before, with or after the end of the standalone timespan.
If the collecting timespan ends before the standalone timespan, collecting and holding information at the monitoring unit is not affected by applying wired connections or links to the monitoring unit for energy transfer. Please note that such application of the addressed wire-bound links or connections means terminating the standalone operating mode of the monitoring unit.
If the collecting timespan ends with or after the end of the standalone timespan it becomes possible to include in the collected information which is significant for proper/unproper application of the addressed wire-bound links or connections. Such information may be relevant to establish whether a junction of such a wire-bound connection to the monitoring unit, as e.g. for wired transmission of information dependent from information as collected in the monitoring unit, is properly established.
In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention which may be combined with any of the already addressed and of the still to be addressed embodiments, unless in contradiction, the standalone timespan ends before or after transmitting information dependent from information as collected in the monitoring unit to the remote unit. If the standalone timespan ends before the addressed transmitting this means that such transmitting may be performed by applying a wire-bound transmission link to the monitoring unit, e.g. a metal wire connection or an optical fibre connection. If, on the other hand, the standalone timespan ends after such transmitting, this means that transmitting of information dependent from information as collected in the monitoring unit to the remote unit is performed in a wireless manner.
In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, which may be combined with any of the preaddressed embodiments or with any of the embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, transmitting of the information dependent from information as collected in the monitoring unit to the remote unit is performed before or after the end of the application timespan. If transmitting is performed before removing the monitoring unit from the device, it becomes possible to write information e.g. about the result of an evaluation back to the monitoring unit still applied to the device. Thereby, indirectly, the respective device is marked with such information, which may be exploited for later decision how the respective device is be further processed.
If transmitting is performed after such removing, it becomes possible to convey the monitoring unit which has left its respective device to a transmitting station remote from the removal area. This may e.g. be a valid approach if the transmission of information lasts longer time.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiments or with embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the information collected in the monitoring unit is at least one of a gas pressure, a gas pressure course, an amount of a gas species in a gas, a course of such an amount, a temperature, a temperature course, an optical characteristic in the visible and/or invisible light spectrum, a course of such optical characteristic, a reaction upon radiation, a course of such reaction, electric impedance, a course of such impedance, a force, a course of such force.
The information as collected in the monitoring unit may thus be a gas pressure or a gas pressure course. This is e.g. the case if a close or an open container is tested on leakiness. Generically spoken, if a pressure difference is established between the surrounding of such container and the inside of such container, in the case of leakiness, the inside pressure and/or the pressure in the surrounding of the container will vary over time due to pressure equalization through the leak. Thus, as an example in this case a gas pressure or a gas pressure course is collected and information dependent therefrom is exploited.
We thereby understand under a “course” throughout the present description and claims the development of the respectively addressed entity over time.
The information collected in the monitoring unit may be the amount of a gas species in a gas or a course of such an amount. This may be the case e.g. if, as a device, a close container is pressurized with a gas which comprises a predetermined gas species. If a leak is present the pressurized gas is flowing out of the container into the container's surrounding. The gas in the surrounding is collected by the monitoring unit, e.g. in a sample compartment. Thereby, the gas in the sample compartment contains the relevant information, namely the amount of the gas species. By establishing a gas flow communication from such sample compartment in the monitoring unit to the remote unit, which is realized as a gas analyzer unit, the information, namely the content or amount of the addressed predetermined gas species as a piece of information, is transmitted to the gas analyzing remote unit, which analyzes the gas sample and specifically the amount of the addressed gas species as a test result. By taking gas samples at subsequent times into more than one sample compartment in the monitoring unit and analyzing such samples, the course of the addressed amount of gas species may be evaluated.
Further, the information collected in the monitoring unit may be a temperature or temperature course. Collecting temperature information may be done by a temperature sensor arrangement or by infrared picturing as e.g. for testing on leakiness of close liquid- or gas-filled containers.
The information collected and held in the monitoring unit may be an optical characteristic or a course of such optical characteristic in the visible and/or invisible light spectrum. This may be e.g. the visible or infrared optical appearance of a device, e.g. for inspecting upon shape, damages, proper assembling, leakiness of such a device. Otherwise, the content of a transparent container may be tested e.g. in that the container is exposed to a laser beam and absorption of such laser beam is sensed as an indication of the content of the addressed container.
Further, the addressed information which is collected in the monitoring unit may be a characteristic with respect to a reaction upon radiation or a course of such radiation. E.g. if the structural integrity of a device shall be inspected such device may be exposed to X-ray radiation. The X-ray picture of the device as a reaction of the device upon such radiation is held e.g. by the monitoring unit for subsequent evaluation. Multiple picturing allows evaluation of a respective course.
Further, the addressed information collected in the monitoring unit may be electric impedance, i.e. conductance, capacitance, inductivity and combinations thereof or a course of such impedance. E.g. if a container containing a liquid product is to be leak tested, sensing the electric impedance, e.g. the conductance along the outer wall of such container may be indicative for leakiness.
Still further, the addressed information as collected by the monitoring unit may be a force or a course of such force. As an example, if a close container with elastic wall containing e.g. a gas is to be leak tested, this may be performed by exerting a bias from the exterior upon such container and either measuring the reaction force on such bias or the force with which the container bulges out due to the addressed biasing. Thus, monitoring a force or a course of such force may be information about leakiness of a container.
In fact these examples show that the present invention may be applied to a large variety of inspecting and/or testing techniques as long as collecting the respective information from the device or of information which is caused by the device may be performed nearby the device and in a standalone operating mode.
In one embodiment of the present invention, which may be combined with all preaddressed embodiments and with all embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the information as collected in the monitoring unit is an amount of a predetermined gas species in a gas surrounding the device. Collecting of that information in the monitoring unit comprises collecting a sample of the gas surrounding the device into a sample compartment within the monitoring unit. Evaluating thereby comprises gas analysis, being performed, as an example, by a mass spectrometer in the remote unit. Information held in the sample compartment in the monitoring unit is transmitted by establishing a gas flow communication from the sample compartment to the remote unit.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiments or embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the information as collected in the monitoring unit comprises a gas pressure or gas pressure course. Collecting of the addressed information comprises collecting pressure information by means of a pressure sensor arrangement applied by the monitoring unit to or adjacent to the device.
In one variant of the just addressed embodiment the device is a close container. Applying the monitoring unit results in a sealed interspace between the close container and the monitoring unit. The pressure sensor arrangement senses pressure in the addressed interspace.
In a variant of the just addressed embodiment, the pressure in the interspace is risen above or reduced below the pressure prevailing in the close container at least one of during or before the standalone timespan.
If such rising or reducing is to be performed during the standalone timespan, the monitoring unit may comprise a pressurizing or vacuumizing source e.g. a prepressurized or pre-vacuumized compartment, which is brought in flow communication with the addressed interspace during the standalone timespan. If such rising or reducing is to be performed before the standalone timespan, it may be performed by means of a respective pressure- or vacuum-source remote from the monitoring unit, linked to the monitoring unit and to the interspace by means of a gas flow line, i.e. wire-bound.
In one further embodiment, in which collecting comprises collecting pressure information by means of a pressure sensor arrangement, the device is an open container. Applying the monitoring unit results in sealingly applying the pressure sensor arrangement in flow communication with the inside of the open container. A pressure difference between the inside of the container and the surrounding of the container is established, once the sealed flow communication is established.
In an embodiment of the present invention which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiments and embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit is electrically supplied at least during the standalone timespan by means of an electrical power supply source in the monitoring unit.
Such electrical power supply source may be a battery or a rechargeable battery- or capacity arrangement.
In one variant of the just addressed embodiment the electric power supply source is wirelessly recharged at least one of before, during and after the standalone timespan. Thereby, one is utmost flexible to perform wireless recharging, as by inductive recharging, in dependency of the electric power consumption by the monitoring unit, especially during the standalone timespan. Wireless recharging may be performed once or several times before the standalone timespan and/or once or more than once during the standalone timespan and/or once or several times after the standalone timespan. Thus and if the monitoring unit has a high power consumption, wireless charging may be performed permanently along the loop of the monitoring unit from the application area to the removal area and back to the application area, or just permanently during the standalone timespan.
In an embodiment of the method according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, performing the collecting of information at the monitoring unit is performed at at least one discrete time interval and transmitting the information dependent from the collected information is performed during that addressed time interval.
Thereby, information from or caused by the device is sampled in the addressed at least one discrete time interval, in fact as a sampled measurement, and the information dependent therefrom is transmitted to the remote unit at least substantially during the addressed time interval. Because collecting and transmitting is performed in the same time interval, no intermediate holding of information in the monitoring unit in the sense of storing is necessary. Thereby, a transmission link between the monitoring unit must be established at the addressed at least one time interval, which means that either there is applied a wirebound connection from the monitoring unit to the remote unit during the addressed time interval, or during the addressed time interval, the monitoring unit is in wireless communication with the remote unit, especially if at that time interval the monitoring unit is operated in standalone operating mode. Nevertheless, it should be noted that it is absolutely possible to perform collecting and transmitting of some information at respective different time intervals, thereby necessitating holding or storing information in the monitoring unit and additionally to perform collecting and transmitting practically simultaneously as was addressed.
In one variant of the embodiment just addressed the collecting is performed at more than one discrete time interval and transmission is performed during the respective time intervals. Thereby, it becomes possible to sample practically point by point the course of the information and to transmit such sampled measurements without intermediate holding or storing at the monitoring unit.
Thereby, at least the one or one of the more than one discrete time intervals are located in the standalone timespan, which necessitates in this variant that at the addressed one time interval in the standalone timespan transmission communication between the monitoring unit and the remote unit is established wirelessly.
In an embodiment of the method according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any of the embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the information collected or the information dependent therefrom is held or stored in the monitoring unit at least up to performing transmitting. In this embodiment the moment of transmitting information from the monitoring unit to the remote unit becomes independent from the moment or timespan at which information is collected in the monitoring unit. Thus, as an example the information may be collected during the standalone timespan, whereas the respective information as held and stored in the monitoring unit is transmitted to the remote unit later e.g. when the monitoring unit is in wire-bound operating mode or is already removed from the device.
In an embodiment of the method according to the present invention, which may be combined with any embodiment as already addressed or with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the information collected in the monitoring unit or information dependent therefrom is evaluated in the monitoring unit and the information transmitted comprises a result of such evaluation. Thereby, we understand under “evaluation” an operation to which input signals, namely the addressed collected information or information dependent therefrom, is input and as an output there results different information as a result of operations upon the input information as of comparing, multiplying, dividing, adding, subtracting, filtering, etc. If the information as transmitted has not been evaluated in the monitoring unit or has not completely been evaluated in the monitoring unit, then the remote unit performs the evaluation or the remaining evaluation as necessary.
Wireless transmission may be performed over a short transmission range, e.g. of 10 cm, and at a specific locus along the path of the monitoring unit, practically as a transmission burst, thereby minimizing electric power consumption for such transmission.
In an embodiment of the present invention, which may be combined with any of the preaddressed embodiments and of the embodiments still to be addressed, if not in contradiction, multiple monitoring units are provided and are preferably subsequently applied to subsequent of the devices as inline conveyed towards and into the application area.
Thereby, inspection and/or testing of the inline conveyed devices may be performed at randomly or regularly selected devices, regularly in the sense that any n-th device conveyed to and into the application area is furnished with a monitoring unit.
It is also possible to apply more than one monitoring unit simultaneously to the respective number of devices.
In a further embodiment of the invention, which may be combined with any of the preaddressed embodiments and embodiments still to be addressed, if not in contradiction, multiple monitoring units are provided and are preferably subsequently applied to all subsequent of the devices as inline conveyed towards and into the application area.
In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, information dependent from the information as collected is evaluated and the result of such evaluation is stored in a storage in the monitoring unit. As addressed above evaluation may thereby be performed in the monitoring unit or in the remote unit or in both. The stored result of such evaluating is read out from the monitoring unit and a selecting unit of the apparatus is controlled by such read-out result for selecting further processing of the respective device.
Thus, after having stored the result of evaluating into the monitoring unit the device still combined with the monitoring unit or just having left the monitoring unit becomes attributed by such result as e.g. having passed or not passed the respective inspection and/or test. A selecting unit, which may be said to operate like a junction plate of a railway, is controlled by the stored result, to select how the device shall be further processed. Thereby, the monitoring unit may be removed from the device shortly upstream or downstream the selecting unit.
In an embodiment according to the method of the present invention, which may be combined with any of the preaddressed embodiments and embodiments still to be addressed, if not in contradiction, the devices are inline conveyed from the application area towards and into the removal area which conveying comprises inline conveying the devices by means of at least one band conveyor.
By realizing a conveying from the application area to the removal area to comprise at least one band conveyor the extent or length of conveying path may be flexibly adapted to different needs for the application timespan and thus for the collecting timespan. The monitoring unit is operated in standalone operating mode along such at least one band conveyor.
If the addressed timespan should e.g. be lengthened, either to increase inspection and/or testing accuracy or for adaptation to other devices and/or inspections and/or tests to be performed, this is just performed by providing a different or adding a further band conveyor.
The present invention is further directed on a method for manufacturing devices which have positively passed an inspection and/or test. This method comprises providing uninspected and/or untested devices, inline inspecting and/or testing the uninspected and/or untested devices by the method of inspecting and/or testing as addressed above, possibly in one or more than one of its embodiments. Thereby, an evaluating result assigned to a device, indicating a positive inspection and/or test result, indicates that the device has positively passed the inspection and/or the test.
The present invention is further directed upon an inline device inspecting and/or testing apparatus. So as to fulfill the object as outlined above such apparatus comprises according to the present invention                At least one monitoring unit adapted to be releasably applied to or over one of the devices and, in a standalone operating mode, to collect information from and/or caused by the device, whereby the monitoring unit is in standalone operating mode during a standalone timespan;        an applicator unit which is adapted to apply the monitoring unit to or over one of the devices;        a removal unit which is adapted to remove the monitoring unit from such device, after an application timespan, initiated as the monitoring unit is applied to or over the device;        a conveyor, which is adapted to inline convey the devices towards and into alignment with the applicator unit;        an arrangement, which is adapted to bring the monitoring unit from the removal unit to the applicator unit;        a reception unit which is stationary with respect to the addressed conveyor and which is adapted to receive information dependent from information collected in the monitoring unit;        a remote unit which is stationary with respect to the addressed conveyor and with an input which is operationally connected to an output of the reception unit;        control means, which are adapted to control the monitoring unit so as to collect the information during a collecting timespan.        The standalone timespan thereby includes at least a part of the application timespan;        the collecting timespan is controlled by the control means to include at least a part of the addressed part of the application timespan.        
In an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, which may be combined with any embodiment still to be addressed, the apparatus comprises a conveyor adapted to inline convey devices including a device with the monitoring unit applied thereon or thereover from the applicator unit towards and into alignment with the removal unit.
In one embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, which may be combined with any embodiment preaddressed and still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the applicator unit and the removal unit are at least substantially provided at the same locus or are mutually remote. If applicator unit and removal unit are provided at the same locus, this means that a monitoring unit is applied to a device and removed from a device at the same locus. Between the applicator unit and the removal unit there may be a conveying loop of an extent as desired for the device with the monitoring unit applied thereto, along which the application timespan may be selected as desired. On the other hand the monitoring unit may be applied to a device kept stationary and the monitoring unit is removed from such device still kept stationary, i.e. application and removal of the monitoring unit is performed during the device being stationary.
If the applicator unit and the removal unit are mutually remote, then there is provided a conveying path from the applicator unit to the removal unit for the device with the monitoring unit applied thereto and by means of the length and/or average speed of conveying the application timespan can be tailored as desired.
In an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, which may be combined with any embodiment of the apparatus as was addressed and still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the applicator unit and the removal unit are provided at the same locus and the apparatus comprises a stationary support station for at least one device at the addressed locus. This is, as was already addressed, the case when the device shall be loaded with a monitoring unit and the monitoring unit shall be removed from the device as the device is kept stationary.
In a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment of such apparatus and with any embodiment thereof still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the apparatus comprises a stationary support station for at least one device along a conveying path from the applicator unit to the removal unit.
In this embodiment, although the device with the monitoring unit applied thereto being conveyed from the applicator unit to the removal unit, being located at the same locus or mutually remote, there is provided along such conveying path a stationary support station which may be said a retarder station for the device, which means that along the addressed path the device with the monitoring unit applied thereto or thereover is kept in a stationary waiting position. Thereby, the extent of the application timespan may be extended as desired by such retardation without necessitating changing the length of the conveying path from the applicator unit to the removal unit and/or without changing the speed of conveying between the addressed two units.
In one embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any embodiment already addressed and still to be addressed below, unless in contradiction, the collecting timespan is controlled by the control means to start before, with or after starting of the application timespan.
In a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the collecting timespan is controlled by the control means to start before, with or after starting of the standalone timespan.
In a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit is in standalone operating mode ongoingly during looping from the applicator unit to the removal unit and back to the applicator unit.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit is in the standalone operating mode at the latest at the start of the application timespan.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the control means control the collecting timespan to end before, with or after removing the monitoring unit from the device by the removal unit.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the collecting timespan is controlled by the control means to end before, with or after the end of the standalone timespan.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the standalone timespan ends before or after reception of the information by the reception unit.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit comprises means which are adapted to collect and hold information representing at least one of gas pressure, a gas pressure course, an amount of a gas species in a gas, a course of such an amount, a temperature, a temperature course, on optical characteristic in the visible and/or invisible light spectrum, a course of such optical characteristic, a reaction upon a radiation, a course of such reaction, electric impedance, a course of such impedance, a force, a course of such force.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit comprises means which are adapted to collect and hold information representing an amount of a predetermined gas species in a gas surrounding the device. The means adapted to collect and hold the information in the monitoring unit comprise a sample compartment in the monitoring unit and the remote unit is adapted for gas analysis. The reception unit comprises an input gas flow line which is adapted to be controllably connected to the sample compartment.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit comprises a gas pressure sensor arrangement.
Still in a further embodiment of the just addressed embodiment the addressed device is a close container and the monitoring unit is adapted to be applied over such device. The monitoring unit defines together with the addressed device a sealed interspace between the close container and the monitoring unit. The pressure sensor arrangement is in operational connection with the addressed interspace.
Still in a further embodiment of the just addressed embodiment the apparatus further comprises means which are adapted to rise pressure in the interspace above or to reduce such pressure in the interspace below a pressure which prevails in the close container one of before and of during the standalone timespan.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, in which the monitoring unit comprises a gas pressure sensor arrangement, the device is an open container. The monitoring unit is adapted to sealingly apply the pressure sensor arrangement in a sealed flow communication with the inside of the open container and further comprises means which are adapted to establish a pressure difference between the inside of the container and the surrounding of the container, once the sealed flow communication is established.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit comprises an electrical power supply unit, which is adapted to electrically supply the monitoring unit at least during the standalone timespan.
In an embodiment of the just addressed embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention the electric power supply unit is wirelessly chargeable as by inductive charging.
In an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, which may be combined with any of the preaddressed embodiments and embodiments still to be addressed, if not in contradiction, the control means are adapted to control the monitoring unit to collect information as the monitoring unit is adjacent to the reception unit. Thereby, information dependent from the information sample as collected is transmitted to the reception unit without intermediate storage in the monitoring unit.
In an embodiment of the just addressed embodiment more than one of the addressed reception units are provided at distinct loci along the path of the monitoring unit from the applicator unit over removal unit and back to the application unit and the control means are adapted to control the monitoring unit so as to collect the information as the monitoring unit is adjacent to respective ones of the reception units. Thereby, multiple information samples are collected and information dependent therefrom is directly, i.e. substantially without intermediate storage in the monitoring unit, transmitted to the respective reception unit. In an embodiment in which the monitoring unit collects information just when it is adjacent to a reception unit, the monitoring unit is in standalone operating mode during such a collecting and transmitting.
In an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, which may be combined with any embodiment already addressed and still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit comprises holding means for information dependent from information as collected. If we speak of information dependent from information we understand that the information which is dependent may be equal to the information wherefrom it is dependent or may be different as e.g. prefiltered, preselected, etc.
Thereby and due to such holding means the moment of collecting information by the monitoring unit and of transmitting information dependent from such information collected may be selected independent from each other, i.e. the moment of transmitting such information to the reception unit may be selected e.g. much later than the moment at which such information was collected by the monitoring unit.
E.g. the information may be collected by the monitoring unit as it is in the standalone operating mode, whereas transmission of the information dependent from the information as collected may be performed as the monitoring unit is operated in wire-bound operating mode and/or is already separate from the respective device, i.e. after having passed the removal unit.
In one embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment of such apparatus and embodiment thereof still to be addressed, the apparatus comprises an evaluation unit, whereby at least one of in the monitoring and in the remote unit the evaluation unit being operationally connected or connectable to collecting means in the monitoring unit. Thereby, evaluation of information as collected by the monitoring unit may be performed either by a respective evaluation unit in the monitoring unit or a respective evaluation unit in the remote unit or a part of such evaluation may be performed by an evaluation unit in the monitoring unit and the other part by an evaluation unit in the remote unit.
In an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit comprises an electronic data storage for holding the information as collected in the monitoring unit.
In an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment thereof and embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the monitoring unit comprises a wireless transmission unit and the reception unit comprises a wireless receiver unit. Both, reception unit and transmission unit may be bidirectional.
In an embodiment of the just addressed embodiment the monitoring unit comprises an electronic data storage for holding the information as collected, an input of the wireless transmission unit at the monitoring unit being operationally connected to an output of the electronic data storage.
Thereby, it has to be noted that we understand under the term “reception unit” generically a unit which is adapted to receive a physical signal e.g. a gas flow, a temperature, etc., whereas we understand under a wireless receiver unit and in analogy by a wireless transmission unit respective units which are adapted to transmit and respectively receive signals in the form of electromagnetic signals transmitted over air or of optical signals and are thus in fact transmitted in a contactless manner.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the apparatus comprises multiple of the addressed monitoring units. The applicator unit is adapted to apply preferably subsequently to subsequent of the devices as inline conveyed towards and into alignment with the applicator unit a monitoring unit. The removal unit is thereby adapted to remove, preferably subsequently, a monitoring unit from the devices as, for instance, inline conveyed towards and into alignment with the removal unit.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any of the preaddressed embodiments and with any of the embodiments still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, the apparatus comprises multiple of the monitoring units and the applicator unit is adapted to apply, preferably subsequently, to all subsequent of the devices as inline conveyed towards and into alignment with the applicator unit a monitoring unit. The removal unit is adapted to remove, preferably subsequently, a monitoring unit from each of the devices preferably as inline conveyed towards and into alignment with the removal unit.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any preaddressed embodiment and with any embodiment of the apparatus still to be addressed, unless in contradiction, an evaluation unit is provided, and an output of the evaluation unit is operationally connectable to a resettable storage in the monitoring unit.
Still in a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, which may be combined with any of the preaddressed embodiments, unless in contradiction, a conveyor which is adapted to inline convey the devices including a device with the monitoring unit applied thereon or thereover from the applicator unit towards and into alignment with the removal unit during the application timespan comprises at least one band conveyor.